Pages

Monday, August 12, 2013

The choices we make

We've written before about the interesting relationship
between Jesus and us, described in John 15 as the relation between the vine and
the branches.There are numerous lessons
which come from this section of Scripture, and to refresh your memory we mention
again things like the concept of pruning away branches which do not bear fruit,
and the principle that the branches cannot produce fruit when they are apart
from the vine.

There is a verse later in that chapter, John 15, that gives
us yet another connection to consider. Jesus says in verse 16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you
might go and bear fruit."

Today we wish to talk about choices......something
we make every day of our lives.Early
training in our infancy leads us to learn and understand to choose obedience to
the commands of our parents.Failure to
make that choice will lead to consequences.

We also have choices to make when it comes
to those people with which we are going to associate or be friends.Those are choices we make based on having
similar interests, likes and dislikes, or perhaps the frequency of
contact.We choose a vocation, something
in which we can work to support our families as well as accomplish worthwhile
duties and have a sense of pride in a job well done.We choose our life partner after meeting,
dating, spending time to really learn that person, and finally the decision to
choose that person to spend the rest of our lives together. Those are important choices, but the greatest
choice we make is when we choose God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior.

When Jesus was choosing his disciples, the
Bible lets us know a little about how he went about choosing them when he would
find them and say something like , "come, follow me."He chose them based on what he could see in
their lives, in their hearts.When he
made them his choice, he was also inviting them to choose him.Their choice to follow him, similar to our
choice to follow him, brought about life-changing changes.

Choices continue to be necessary for us to
make. Like in the case of Moses who chose to suffer with the people of God rather
than dwell in the courts of Pharaoh.Or
in the case of Paul, after he answered the call of the Lord, he chose to preach
and serve God through sharing the gospel, knowing it would probably lead to
great suffering, imprisonment, and perhaps even his death.

Likewise, the Bible has its share of those who made wrong
choices.King Agrippa almost chose
Jesus, but never found the right time to do it.The one we know as the rich young ruler, wanted to make Jesus his
choice, but turned away when he considered all the wealth he would be losing.

Through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, he
still calls us to himself. In choosing to die in our place, he invites us to
choose him.I repeat, the greatest
choice we make is when we choose God as our Father and Jesus as our Savior.